News

Digital Manga Publisher Azuki Changes Name to Omoi

Digital manga publisher Azuki announced on Thursday that it will change its name to Omoi. The company explains that the word omoi means "thought" or "feeling" in Japanese. Omoi represents the thoughtfulness and care that the company has put into its manga releases and app experience over the past four years. The company stated that despite the name change, its catalog, user experience, payment model, and price are still the same.

The company's new website address is omoi.com, and the app's new title is "Omoi: Manga Reader."

Omoi co-founder and licensing/marketing director Evan Minto states about the name change:

“The name represents a new phase for us, as we greatly expand our catalog in 2026. It also reduces the brand confusion around our old name, which was in use by multiple companies in other industries.”

Omoi (then Azuki) launched in June 2021 on iOS, Android, and web browser in English worldwide except Japan. The service offers simulpub manga chapters shortly after they launch in Japan in addition to a library of other titles. Omoi's first partnership was with Kodansha USA, and the service offered titles from the publisher's catalog at launch, until Kodansha ended simulpub manga distribution with the company and on other platforms in January 2023.

Omoi added over 150 manga titles from MediBang! and Media Do International in April 2023, and announced its partnership with J-Novel Club in July 2024, adding 21 titles to its catalog.

Omoi serializes new chapters of My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files, Natsume & Natsume, and You're So Sloppy, Hotta-sensei manga, and also releases print editions of titles including Hikaru in the Light!, Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms, and the upcoming Crescent Moon Marching and Our Aimless Nights.

Source: Email correspondence